Journals

Family Home Evening
Journals


Opening Song Families can be together forever  Children's Songbook #188


Opening Prayer: Child


Lesson: Parent

Inspired by some recent (unheard of) stories told us by older members of our family we did a lesson on journals/family history.

I got out all my journals for us to look through
(ok so I might have put a couple of angst ridden teen ones to the side ;)

Journals included ones from childhood, a gratitude - one liners journal, little notes about the kids when they were babies, and a few folders of letters and a folder containing all the wedding cards  and birth congratulations we've recieved.

I read out several funny things about me. Then notes about them as babies - first words, silly things they did. The children flicked through all our wedding cards and enjoyed the pictures. I also located a spiritual entry I wrote when President Hinckley visited my town in Australia when I was a teen and told the kids how I had almost forgotten parts of what I had learnt, but here it was to refresh my memory.

Ask questions like:

Why is it important to keep a journal?
(you will NEVER remember everything, so people can know all about you after you have passed, they don't remember when they were a baby so its important for adults to write about babies,

How often will they write/draw in a journal?
(we choose sunday afternoons)

What can you write in the journal?
(always include friends names, places you visit, describe our home, fun things we do, family traditions, things you've learnt, when your sad or happy, on your birthday, important dates like baptisms)

What things would they like people to remember about them?

What things to do we know about our grandparents/great grandparents because of journals?



Activity:

(When I visit my grandparents etc I ask them if I can take digital photos of their photos. These work out so well! I know when one of my grandparents passes I will never see those photos again, I am so grateful that I have taken photos of the photos of 4 generations of grandparents/family)

We held a slideshow from our computer of all the photos we have of our ancestors. We talked about the little we knew of their great great grandparents and showed the photos and where they lived. We had a little laugh at a photo of a great great grandma who looked exactly like their Poppy (great grandpa) in a dress!! (we never guessed he looked so much like his mum!)

Or if each child doesnt already have a journal - gift one to each child and start writing/drawing in it tonight.

{another side note you might like, many years ago we used to include journal writing in FHE. The little kids would draw in their book and we would write the words in for what they did that week. It helped us make FHE go for a bit longer as lessons were very short and sweet when the children are small}


Closing Song:  I have a family Tree Children's Songbook #199


Closing Prayer: Child


Treat: